Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)

Jez moved about Shya’s open concept living room and joined kitchen, drawing the blinds. I trotted away into the foyer, nervous about the shift back. My worry was unfounded. The shift was smooth and swift. Success.


I stood in Shya’s foyer, naked and awkward. “Jez,” I called. “Clothes?”

She appeared right away with a hoodie and sweat pants for me. The pant legs were too long for me, but I wasn’t going to complain.

“You’re going commando in my pants,” Jez observed. “Which means they’re your pants now.”

Her reference to my lack of underwear had me cringing. I grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her close, keeping my voice low and breathy so that Shaz’s keen wolf hearing wouldn’t catch our conversation.

“Briggs is a dreamwalker,” I whispered. “That’s why I brought him here. But he has something on me. It’s going to come out either way. It’s bad, Jez.”

Her hand was warm on my arm. “How bad?”

I couldn’t say it. Didn’t want the words to come out of my mouth. Because I was that stricken about it, I grabbed her phone from her back pocket, opened the notepad and typed: Falon. Me. That building. So, so bad.

She gaped at me, mouthing, “What the fuck?”

I nodded and deleted the note before handing the phone back. Telling someone who wouldn’t judge me didn’t make me feel any better. Actually, I wasn’t sure how I felt. I didn’t really feel anything at all.

Jez shook her head and patted my arm. “You’ve just blown my mind. Try not to freak out just yet.”

“Do me a favor? Get Shaz out of here. I need to be alone with Briggs.”

She nodded knowingly. “Gonna have a little succubus torture session?”

“Something like that.”

We returned to the living room to find Shaz standing over Briggs with his arms crossed. The Fed did his best to appear bored and unafraid, but he was nervous. The smell of it was on the air.

“Come on, Shaz,” Jez said, grabbing hold of his arm. She paused to squeeze his bicep. “Impressive. Anyway, we’ve got to go back to the FPA building and pick up my Jeep and Alexa’s car. You wanna give me a hand with that?”

Shaz’s green gaze landed on me as if he knew I was trying to get rid of him. “Sure. No problem.”

I followed him to the foyer, ensuring I could still see Briggs from where I stood. Then I grabbed Shaz in a hug and squeezed tight. “I’m sorry that I can never stop hurting you.”

He pulled back and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to meet his eyes. “What’s going on, Lex?”

“I can’t stop myself from doing things that will destroy other people. It’s so fucking hard, Shaz. I’m not sure I’m going to get through this transition without burning every bridge I’ve built.”

“Don’t talk like that. You have a war going on inside you. I know I’ll never understand what it’s like, but I understand that it’s something nobody should ever have to live with.” He kissed my cheek and turned to follow Jez out.

When they were gone, I turned to Briggs with a smile. “Looks like we’re all alone. Isn’t it funny how the tables have turned after just one night? You’re a man of many talents, Briggs, but learning your damn lesson isn’t one of them, is it?”

He stared at me with disdain and perhaps some blatant hatred. “And I suppose you’re going to teach it to me. Everything you do only serves to confirm that you’re a sadistic monster who needs to be destroyed.”

“Right back at ya.” I could barely contain my growing excitement as I crossed the room to the couch. In a bold move, I climbed onto his lap, straddling him. The deadly, seductive power spilled from me when I touched his face. “I’m going to enjoy this. And so are you.”

Briggs stiffened. With his hands behind his back and me in his lap, he didn’t have a lot of options. All of the torture survival training in the world wouldn’t help him now.

“Do you really think I’m going to fall for your tricks after watching you fuck a fallen angel?” He laughed, mirthless and bitter.

“Actually, yeah. I do.” I released my hold on the growing power, letting it crawl all over him. He fought it, as they sometimes do, and then he succumbed because, though he might be a well-trained liar, there was no training that could teach anyone to resist the nature of desire that lives in us all.

Briggs made a small noise that sounded like he was exerting much effort to resist me. Against his will his body began to respond. His impressive erection soon strained against me.

“God, how you disgust me,” he muttered, though it came out breathless and forced.

I ran a hand down his neck, over his chest, the simplest of touches that the power turned into a sex-charged caress. Wriggling just a little, I laughed. “That doesn’t feel like disgust.”